As the resident staff violinist who regularly plays out in bar and club venues where amplification is needed, I frequently get asked about pickups and I thought it would be worth doing a round up of what we sell.

Our best selling pickup is the Headway Band (£139 for the violin version, viola and cello a little more). This ingenious design consists of a pickup element inside a plastic tube, which stretches around the lower bout of the instrument so that the pickup element presses against the belly. This is great from a tonal point of view as it takes the vibration of the belly as its sound source so you get a good representation of the sound of the instrument, and it's also extremely practical as the pickup can be installed or removed in under a minute so you're not limited to a permanently fitted device. It's the ideal system for an expensive violin where you don't want to modify or effect the acoustic quality of the violin in any way, or if you only infrequently use a pickup. The only disadvantages are that it is a little more feedback prone than other pickups, and that it picks up any handling noise of the instrument more than the others so you're more likely to get noises through the PA when you're picking up  or putting down the instrument, or those onstage scissor kick stage moves...

The Fishman V100 (£99) and V200 (£129) are the best known pickup on the market and remain a good choice. The pickup element fits into the wing of the bridge which, depending on the way your violin bridge was carved, may be a simple push fit or it may require opening the wing out out a little more. It's too fragile a system to constantly take on and off so it really has to remain on the instrument when not in use. We prefer the V200 as it includes a high quality 1/4" jack socket that mounts onto the rim of the violin in the same way the chin rest is fitted. It's a good, clear sound and due to its popularity as a professional system it has the advantage that many sound engineers will have worked with one before. Cello and bass versions are also available and the V100 works on viola as well as violin. The V20o often doesn't fit a viola as stock due to the depth but judicial use of the bracket of a viola chin rest allows them t0 be adapted if you want to go down that route.

Lastly the Realist(£188) is a new system by a renowned maker of double bass pickups. The element for this system is a foil strip that sits between the bridge and and belly of the violin. It then connects to a very discreet 1/4" jack socket than mounts onto the rim of the instrument. It raises the bridge height by about 0.5mm and you may feel this difference - if so the bridge can be adjusted. Again, we do not recommend removing the pickup unless absolutely necessary. By connecting to both the bridge and the belly, it has a clean, high output signal comparable to the Fishman but it also has the warmth and realism of the Band - in fact, a little brighter and with more definition than the Band - so it offers the best of both worlds. I've been using this pickup for about six months now and have been very happy with it in terms of performance and sound. We currently stock the violin and bass versions but viola and cello versions are available to order without much of a wait.

If you want to know any  more about amplifying string family instruments you can contact us in the instrument department (1061 834 3281 ext 606 or you can email us) and we'll be happy to help. We have all the above in stock and of course we can fit them for you - most days there is someone on the staff who can do it while you wait.